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Finance committee flags Shamrock and Linscott roofs as top capital priorities, eyes grants or bonding
Summary
Woburn City finance committee members pressed school officials and staff about patching and replacement options for aging school roofs, noting a pending grant application for Shamrock and estimated replacement costs of about $1.5 million for Shamrock and roughly $1 million for Linscott.
Woburn City finance committee members on Thursday highlighted two aging school roofs — Shamrock and Linscott — as among the most urgent items in the proposed FY2026 capital budget, and discussed grant funding, temporary patching and bonding as possible ways to pay for replacements.
The committee heard that the Shamrock roof “is probably somewhere around a million and a half,” and that Linscott’s replacement would also be a multi‑million‑dollar project; staff said the district will continue patching leaks while pursuing grant funding. The committee was told the cemetery commission contributes $25,000 annually for landscaping but that roof work requires separate capital decisions.
Why this matters: councilors said repeated patching creates ongoing operational costs and possible health risks, including mold, and they urged the administration to pursue grants quickly or prepare a bonding plan. Councilors also asked for contractor estimates so the city could act promptly if grant funding comes through.
Most important facts first: Lenny Burnham, facilities manager, told the committee that “To to replace the shamrock roof is probably somewhere around a million and a half. So we we can't just let it keep leaking, so we'll we'll fix it until we get funding.” He added that parts of the Linscott roof are older — “one side of the Linscott roof is from the eighties” — and that replacement is costly. Burnham said the city currently has pricing from several contractors but does not yet have a full written project scope because the administration wanted clarity on funding before finalizing scoping and bidding.
Committee members pressed for an actionable path: Councilor Toro said she would “really like to see the Linscott roof and the Shamrock roof get addressed,” citing concerns that patching is temporary and that repeated leaks could cause mold or safety problems. Councilor Campbell and others urged officials to secure estimates and, if grants fail, to consider bonding or a stabilization transfer to complete replacements.
Staff described interim options and alternatives. Burnham said overlay treatments — for example, a fluid membrane or fleece overlay — can extend the useful life of some roofs by roughly 15 years on buildings where insulation and underlying structure remain sound. He said insulation damage on Shamrock and Linscott is substantial (more than 30 percent in some areas), which makes overlays less cost‑effective for those two buildings and pushes the district toward full replacement.
On funding, the administration said it has an active grant application for Shamrock that may include solar installation; if the grant is not awarded, officials plan to return to the council to discuss options such as bonding a package of school projects or using stabilization funds.
What’s next: staff said they would pursue a written scope and formal estimates so the city can move quickly if grant funds are awarded, and they signaled they will bring funding options — bond versus stabilization transfer — back to the council.
Ending: Councilors urged staff to prepare numbers and timelines so the council can act before the next construction season if grants come through or if patching is no longer a safe temporary measure.
